Calling Rafe
by B.L.A. the Mouse
Summary: An alternate future quiet moment, featuring Beka and Tyr. But what happens when Rafe shows up? Now complete.
1. Obs. Deck

Summary: An alternate future quiet moment.

Codes: Beka/Tyr

Disclaimer: Tribune owns all rights to _Andromeda_. All I did was borrow it for use in my twisted little tale.

Spoilers: Maybe faint spoilers for "Forced Perspective" and "Its Hour Come Round At Last."

Rating: PG, for cursing

Author's Note: I apologize for the sappiness and the almost total irrelevancy of the title. This was a little muse that wouldn't leave my head. 

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Calling Rafe

By B.L.A. the Mouse

If she squinted, she could see the closer stars shifting. _I wonder where Rafe is?_ she thought, idly tracing a design on the cold window with her fingertip. _Too bad Dad isn't still around; he'd love this._

The sound of the door swishing open didn't distract her from her scrutiny of the stars. She was on Obs. Deck, after all. This was public, and anyone could walk in. Judging by the lack of footsteps, though, it was Tyr or Trance. 

Beka's suspicions were confirmed when strong, warm arms circled her waist, under her arms. A ghost of a smile crossed her lips and her eyes almost involuntarily closed as she leaned into the embrace. Tyr's hand ran over the slight swell of her abdomen. "Are you ever going to get tired of doing that?" she said, softly, teasingly, trapping his hands with hers and pressing the joined grip into her stomach.

He kissed her neck, just behind her ear. "No." A delicious shiver ran down her spine. A pause, a heartbeat went by. "Have you actually stopped and thought about this yet?"

"Not yet. I'm still trying to comprehend it." She chuckled, quietly and delightedly. "And it's already making me look fat!"

She could almost feel him smile. "What do you have to comprehend?" He shifted their hands, his thumb rubbing over the gold band on her left ring finger. "It's a baby. Our baby." He moved his hands again, spread fingers covering the new life that lay inside her slowly rounding stomach. She left her hands on the outside of his, but interlaced their fingers.

They stood like that and stared at the stars. Time slipped by, but they were caught in a world of their own, hoping to trap this moment, this small spot of time permanently in a glass bubble, preserving it for all eternity. Their thoughts wandered leisurely about, taking advantage of the valuable seconds of peace.

Beka's meanderings led her the fact that all their most important moments had taken place in this room. No, not all- there were the shared moments all over the ship, the quick smiles in the middle of long duty shifts, the nights spent just reveling in the feel of being beside each other- but many, most, of the defining moments. That dinner that had touched everything off. The apologies for their behavior that they had exchanged after the Magog worldship had changed their perspectives. The first actual date- she'd never thought Tyr could be nervous, but he'd dropped a dish he'd prepared, sent it crashing to the ground from jittery fingers, before the tension was broken by mutual laughter. The first kiss, after that laughter died down, that confirmed their emotions, revealed warmth between them, pledged their as-yet-unspoken promise.

Their wedding, for lack of a better term. She'd insisted on a combined Human-Nietzschean ceremony. The rest of the crew had watched as he slid the ring on her finger, then as she had fastened the double helix on his arm. Her hands had been sweaty from nerves and somehow the helix had slipped so that when she shut the clasp she caught skin. She hadn't heard a Nietzschean bellow before or since, for which she was definitely grateful.

And most recently, when they had been concerned over her lasting spell of mild flu. Trance had looked over the numerous tests and told them to meet her on Obs. Deck. She'd been waiting with a bouquet and some alcohol-free champagne. She had told them what was causing the malaise, then slipped away as they had started celebrating the pregnancy. Oh, they had gone through a few milestones here.

Beka realized how many stars had glided silently by while she was reminiscing. "Tyr," she said, twisting in his arms until she was facing him. 

"Yes?" he replied, distantly. She promptly brought him out of his reverie by slipping her arms around his neck and kissing him as deeply as she could from her current angle. 

"Well, that certainly got your attention," she grinned after pulling back.

"More than adequately," he agreed, bending down to kiss her back. She deftly avoided his lips, placing a finger against them.

"I was thinking," she paused, since she knew he wouldn't like this suggestion, "that maybe we could hunt up my less-than-scrupulous brother and give him the good news?"

As she'd expected, his eyes flashed fire. He sounded perfectly calm, though; maybe she'd have to do less damage control than she'd thought. "I suppose we could. But," he said, stifling her reaction, "if he tries to hurt you or destroy the ship again, I retain the right to fire him from a missile tube."

"Done." She kissed him to seal the deal. They were about to take it to a slightly more personal level when the intercom interrupted. 

"Beka, Tyr, we need you in command."

Tyr groaned slightly and Beka just muttered "Damn," quietly enough that the intercom didn't pick it up. As they headed toward the door, Tyr promised, "We'll finish this later."

"After we start looking for Rafe," she reminded him, already planning how to tell her brother about the newest addition to the family.


	2. Checking Up On Her

General Stuff Pertaining to the Story: There may be spoilers for "The Ties That Blind." Since I started writing this right after "The Widening Gyre" and am going on from there, I may add stuff from future episodes as well. The rest of the usual blurb can be found on the first chapter.

Author's Note: It took a while for this chapter to be up, partly because I'm a slow writer, but mainly because I had a very long argument with myself as to continuing this or leaving it as it was. I finally decided to continue it, and have been working on it. A thank you to all who have reviewed; I really appreciate your taking the time to do it, and, naturally, I love the praise. Constructive criticism is wanted, as well, but flames will be used in place of matches.

****

Calling Rafe

Chapter Two: Checking Up On Her

By B.L.A. the Mouse

When they arrived in Command, Beka only had to look to see why they had been called up. Dylan and Rommie were in front of the screen, talking to an unexpected caller.

"Please, Dylan," the man on the screen said lazily. He paused, obviously noticing something- probably Rommie's dislike at the overly familiar use of her captain's name- and amended, "Captain Hunt, all I want to do is talk to your first officer."

"And I told you, she's on her way. This is a big ship; it can take a while to get from one place to another." Dylan's tone was supremely annoyed.

Beka decided to break in. Moving forward, she smiled broadly and exclaimed, "Rafe! We were just discussing coming to look for you."

"We were?" Dylan turned and gave her a puzzled look.

"Looking for me?" Rafe was equally confused.

"Yes, we were," Beka confirmed. Leaving Tyr by the door, she meandered over to the nearest console and slid behind it, covering her stomach. She crossed her arms, as well, covering her left hand. She'd tell Rafe eventually, of course, but in her own time. Tipping him off through the ring and the cling of her tight shirt was not in the game plan. "So what was it you were demanding to talk to me about?"

"Try this." Her brother leaned forward. "I crawled out of my nice, safe hole for the completely insane reason of checking up on my baby sister, only to hear an equally insane tabloid news story that she's married. To a Nietzschean, no less. It was a very strongly supported tabloid news story, with just enough facts about one of the Valentines to make me a little ill at ease." He eyed her arm. "Since you don't have a helix, though, I'm assuming that some reporter with a grudge against the Commonwealth decided to cook up a marriage for you. I guess the next story will be a follow-up with some scandal. Gotta love journalists."

"You checked up on me? What a remarkably un-Rafe-like thing to do. Actually, though..." She held up her left hand in view of the screen.

Rafe gaped. His wide eyes were darting between her and Dylan- the logical choice for a wedding band. "You mean...what...uh...who...um..." he stammered. "Huh?"

Beka decided to take pity on him. "I'll explain, but not over a commlink. Where are you?"

"That little ship off the bow."

"Good. Andromeda, open the shuttle bay, will you?" She grinned at her sibling before cutting the commlink. "Well," Beka rubbed a hand over her belly and its resident, "this should be interesting. Anyone else want to come and enjoy the fireworks?"

* * *

Beka paced by the entrance to the small shuttle. She had been doing that for the past fifteen minutes, waiting for her brother to come out. Glaring briefly at the airlock, she sighed and turned again.

A few feet away, Dylan and Tyr looked at each other, the former with amusement, the latter with sheer exasperation. After another full minute, Tyr could stand it no longer. "Beka," he said, trying to get her attention. "Beka!"

"Huh? Oh. What?" She paused in her pacing, and he noticed that she had started to bite a nail.

He reached over and pulled her hand away from her mouth. "First, don't bite your nails. Second, stop pacing. Third, relax. Rafe will be here in a moment, and he's just your brother, not an army."

"Just my brother? Tyr, remember his last visit?"

"Yes. Remember what you promised about the missile tubes?"

She smiled, slightly. Something occurred to her. "I need to borrow your vest." She smoothed a hand over the long leather vest he wore over his customary chain mail.

He was confused.

Beka kept her hand on his chest, placed the other over her stomach. She'd discovered relatively early on that physical contact and later, mentioning the baby, worked well for getting him to see her point faster, especially when she combined them. "Rafe's gonna have a hard enough time accepting that I'm married, especially to a Nietzschean ex-mercenary. I figure we could save the news about the baby until after he's recovered from the first shock, and that's going to be hard if he sees it before then."

Tyr grinned, taking the vest off and swirling it around her shoulders. After it was safely secured, he leaned down and kissed her. She moved her hand from her stomach to the back of his neck, holding him there. Neither of them noticed Dylan's not-so-discreet cough.

"Jeez, Rocket. I knew you went for muscular guys, but this is just plain ridiculous."

Beka pulled back. She had to walk around Tyr to address her brother- somehow they had turned so that his back was to the shuttle. It was just as well, though, so long as Tyr made sure to cover his bone blades until she had gotten her brother accustomed to the marriage thing. "Jeez, Big Brother. I thought that after two and a half years and my music collection, you'd have made enough where you wouldn't have to rent a shuttle."

"Who says it was rented?"

"The logo."

"Damn." He shifted uncomfortably. "By the way... your music's in the cabin. I only sold one disk- that one Dad gave you as a joke? The Definitive Collection-"

"Of Earth's Polka Music," Beka finished, starting to laugh. "Oh, god. If you hadn't taken that one, I probably would have given it to Tyr for target practice."

They giggled inanely together, remembering that particular birthday present, on one of the few birthdays their father had actually noticed. It had been right after Beka had started collecting the music disks; Ignatius, knowing that her taste ran more to rock, had deliberately gotten her the worst music available. It had been a gag of the truly diabolical kind.

"How did you find a buyer for that?"

"Ever heard of the Museum for Antique Atrocities?"

"You're kidding!"

"Yes, actually, I am." He pulled out a credit chip and gave it to her. "The chinhead who bought it overpaid. That's your share- fifty percent of three hundred thrones."

"And I thought Persieds were good at math." Beka stared at the chip for a moment, then stuffed it into a pocket. "Here's to the fund. It's not much, but it helps."

"Which fund? _Maru_ or debts?"

"Neither. It goes to the Spoil the Ba-" She caught herself. "_Beka_ Rotten Fund." If Rafe had caught the slip...

He smirked. "What happened to the other two? Did you happen to land a rich guy?" If he had noticed her error, he didn't show it. Of course, he was a con man- hiding his emotions was part of his job.

"He's relatively well off, yes," she allowed. "And he did pay part of the debts, but everyone helped with that. Trance and Harper still have to collect; together, I owe them fifty thrones and dinner at Kavanaugh's. It's amazing what people will do when their transportation is about to be repossessed."

"And the _Maru_?"

"Never been in better repair." Beka decided to end the small talk. "So, ready to meet your brother-in-law now?"

"The man who convinced my sister that commitment isn't a dirty word? Sure. Hope it's the guy you were getting really close to just now." So he had seen them.

"Don't worry about that." She took the few steps toward Tyr. He had turned around at some point during the conversation and was facing them, arms crossed and helix and bone blades prominently displayed. She pulled his head down and kissed him.

She let go and turned back to Rafe. "I believe you remember Tyr Anasazi?"

Her brother was gaping and speechless for the second time that day.


	3. Escort to the Maru

Author's Note: No new spoilers, blurb, etc. Thank you again to those who have reviewed so far. 

****

Calling Rafe

Chapter Three: Escort to the Maru

By B.L.A. the Mouse

Her brother stood in stunned silence for several minutes. Beka was just beginning to get worried about him when he broke into an uncertain smile. "This is a joke, right?" he asked. "You cooked this up for revenge. Play a prank on your unsuspecting brother for all the times he's been unreliable."

"You said it, not me." She knew that Dylan and Tyr wanted to comment, but didn't. "And it's not a joke."

"Then why don't you have a helix?" He was grasping for straws.

"I do, I just don't wear it." She grinned impishly. "Besides, I like wearing a ring better."

Rafe groaned and sank his head into his hands. "You're serious about this?"

"I think we've established that, yes," Tyr interjected. "Can we please change the subject?"

"Stay out of this, Uber. Let me talk to my sister."

One second Rafe was standing right in front of Beka, the next he was backed up against the hull of the shuttle. Tyr hadn't touched him- all he had had to do was advance and glower. "Do not," he said, in a low voice, but quite clearly and distinctly, "address me as 'Uber.' Furthermore, what concerns Beka concerns me as well. Is that clear," he paused for emphasis, "kludge?"

"Tyr!" Beka and Dylan's indignant exclamation echoed off the walls of the shuttle bay.

Tyr merely glanced at them and pressed, "Is that clear?" Rafe nodded. "Good." He pushed off the hull and moved back to his former position, behind Beka.

Dylan stepped between the siblings, a wall protecting them from each other and their entourage. "Well, now that we're all reacquainted, why don't I have someone show you to guest quarters?" He turned to summon over one of the security officers by the doors, but was interrupted.

"That won't be necessary. He'll stay on the _Maru_ with me and Tyr."

The three men turned and stared at Beka like she was insane. She pulled her two crewmates to one side. "Look, he doesn't believe me. I'll put him up in one of the cabins, he sees us together for a week or so, he's convinced."

"Then what?" Tyr asked.

"Then we see what he thinks of his new relative." Beka shrugged and turned back to her bewildered brother. "I'll take you over- it's in another bay. Besides, Dylan's due back on duty and I don't want to disturb any of the new crew."

"What about the Nietzschean?" Rafe looked nervous.

"Tyr will come with us."

Beka led the way out and hoped that she wouldn't have to keep them from killing each other.

*****

The walk over was accomplished in utter silence, though Beka could feel the other two eyeing each other balefully behind her back. When they finally stepped onto the _Maru_, there was an obstruction in her path. Even as she tripped over Harper, Tyr grabbed her arms and steadied her before letting go. 

She put her hands on her hips and glared at her engineer- now chief engineer that they had more crew, and soon to be ex-engineer if he kept propping himself up in doorways. "What are you doing here? I could have broken my neck!"

Smirking, he informed her, "The genius works well here." He held up a small gadget for proof, then stood and cocked his head in her direction. "Are you alright? You didn't seem too well earlier. All that moaning and groaning and retching put me off my breakfast."

"I checked with Trance, I'm fine," she said, loud enough to be heard by everyone, then leaned over and whispered, "but don't mention the baby, Rafe doesn't know yet."

Harper was genuinely surprised. "Rafe's here? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Because I only got onboard half an hour ago." Rafe reached over and clasped his hand. "How're you doing?"

"Great, if a few napping Magog in my guts are ignored. You?" He caught Beka's intensified scowl. Scooping up a few wires, he muttered, "I know, I know, I'm going," and made his hasty exit.

"What was all that about?"

"I'll explain later," Beka turned to face him. "In the meantime, hole up in your old cabin. How much stuff did you bring?" 

"All of it." He saw her exasperated look. "Relax, you saw the size of that shuttle. I travel light. Has anyone used my cabin lately?" He ducked down the hall to the crew cabins.

Beka watched him go, then turned to Tyr. "See? It's easy; we just need to keep him diverted and see how well he adjusts before we tell him more."

Tyr wasn't convinced. "How much do we have to divert him with?"

"On this ship? A lot."

"True." He looked over her. "You were sick this morning? Again?"

"Yeah. I did check with Trance, though, and apparently it's just prolonged morning sickness. It might be hanging around longer than usual, but other than that," she shrugged, "it's no problem."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were on duty by the time it hit, sadly enough, and I haven't really had a chance."

"Sadly." 

"Anyway, most of the moaning wasn't because of the sickness." She grinned.

"I remember." He pulled her around and against him. "How long do you think your brother will take in there?"

"Not long enough. He should be back right about-"

"Rocket! You changed my- sorry, didn't mean to interrupt." Rafe did an abrupt about-face and started to head back into the hallway.

"Now," Beka finished. "It's okay, we weren't doing anything important." She grinned even wider at Tyr's look, half amazement, half irritation. "How about we go get your stuff?"

"All right, just," he glanced between her and Tyr, "please don't do that. It's really, really…weird."

She shared a look with Tyr. "No promises on that score. Come on, Tyr, we need some muscle on this one. Please?"

He rolled his eyes and followed the siblings out of the airlock.


	4. Conversations and Dialogues

Author's Note: Nothing really new. Again, thank you for the reviews and your patience.

****

Calling Rafe

Chapter Four: Conversations and Dialogues

By B.L.A. the Mouse

Rafe had been staying with them for three days now. He had spent all his time trying to prove that they weren't married, and visibly winced whenever he walked in on a scene that so much as hinted at any form of intimacy. Beka was exasperated, Tyr was annoyed, and Rafe hadn't even started on the Nietzschean angle.

That afternoon Beka walked onto the _Maru _after a shift on Command Deck. Leaning against that railing, barely even glancing up from the box he held, Rafe asked, "So where's the Nietzschean?"

"Tyr has a double shift today, and I have a few hours before I go back on duty. What's in the box?" She crossed her arms, pinning Tyr's vest over her stomach. She'd taken to wearing it almost continuously whenever her brother was around, as it was more comfortable and concealed better than her own.

He grinned. "I don't know. It's yours." He lofted it in a perfect arc and dropped it into her waiting hands. "So what is in it? And where'd you get it? Looks expensive."

Bekas smile mirrored his. "It was Trance's present on my last birthday, so I have no idea where it's from or how much it cost. It's pretty, though, isn't it?"

"What's in it?"

"My helix. Give me a minute: this thing has a puzzle lock. Bit of an irony there." She manipulated the bits of wood into place and cracked open the lid, aware that Rafe was watching every movement. The gold helix gleamed in the dim light, the engraved grooves and Kodiak pride markings harboring spots of shadow. She held it up for him to see. "I've had it for a year and a half, since we were married, but I don't wear it so I keep it in here."

"Why don't you wear it?"

"I guess because rings are smaller, easier to wear, and much, much more obvious to human men trying to pick me up." Beka put the helix back in the box and clicked it shut. "What were you doing in our cabin, anyway?"

"What makes you think I was in your cabin?" Rafe's grin now resembled that of the Cheshire cat.

"The fact that I keep this on my dresser and it hasn't been out of the cabin since I got it."

Rafe blanched. "Oops."

"There are other places to roam than the _Maru_, you know." Beka watched her brother carefully; he probably had ticked off a few crewmembers and decided that they were less likely to lynch him on her ship.

"Yeah, but only one that I'm allowed in. Once you've been to Obs. Deck, there isn't really much for a return visit."

Her smile softened. "Oh, I wouldn't say that."

"Youre not going to get all emotional again, are you?" Rafe groaned, seeing the change of expression.

Beka jerked out of it. "Who says I can't? You still haven't told me what you were doing in our cabin."

"I'm trying to prove that the entire thing is a hoax. You should know; I've been doing it for days."

Setting the box down on a nearby console, Beka brushed past him to the pilot's chair and fiddled with some exposed wires. "Look, I've told you. You've seen us together. Hell, we even have video logs of the wedding, if you don't believe us! What more do we have to do to convince you?" She fit the casing back over the wires.

"Shared savings account?"

"Got it."

"Joint ownership of the _Maru_?"

"No way. This is _my_ baby," Beka declared, then remembered the person currently inhabiting her uterus. _Well, one of them, anyway_, she amended mentally.

Rafe saw her face. "Oh, for..." he muttered, and stalked off to his cabin.

She watched him go. When she was quite satisfied that he was out of earshot, she slid a hand under the vest and murmured, "Kid, you are going to have one hell of a family."

* * *

Beka was in the middle of a shouting match with Rafe when Tyr arrived back. She noticed the airlock door opening, but didn't really register in her anger.

"Don't do it again!" she yelled.

"Then what am I supposed to do on this relic? Sit around and count pipes?" he bellowed back.

"This relic is your home, bastard!"

"No, it's your home! Your's and that..." he struggled for a word, but couldn't come up with anything, "that _Nietzschean's_! This stopped being my home when Dad died and you took over!"

"If it's that important to you, then why'd you leave and never come back?" she flung at him.

Tyr cleared his throat and waited.

Beka looked in the direction of the sound and finally registered him, standing by the airlock. "Finally! I've got Command duty. It's your turn to baby-sit him." She injected the last word with venom, even as she pointed over at her brother, and stalked out.

Five feet from the airlock, she realized that she had forgotten the lousy flexi she had been reading over, before she had discovered the missing thrones. Dylan had wanted that report by this shift, and shed finished it last night and left it in her room. Doubling back, she glanced through the glass panes of the airlock and noticed her husband staring at Rafe, who was refusing to meet his eyes.

Intrigued, Beka stayed outside and opened the commlink, receiving end only. Utter silence came over for a moment, but then:

"Mind telling me what that was about?" Tyr was being his usual quietly threatening self.

"Why don't you ask Beka?" Rafe knew his game. That statement had always worked on Dad, even though they'd learned it from him. Trick the questioner, make him think that the innocent could tell you more, was the cause of it all. She could only hope that Tyr didn't fall for it.

"Because," and she saw him begin to back Rafe up to the catwalk railing, "Beka just walked out of here very annoyed, and you are the cause of it." He had him pressed up against it now. "And may I remind you that, as a rule, Nietzscheans tend to become very aggressive when their families are threatened or upset in any way." He paused to let that sink in, then continued. "With that in mind your explaining that discussion just now may keep the worst tendencies at bay. For the moment, anyway."

He was rattled. Tried to hide it, but didn't succeed. "I was in your quarters and Beka found out."

"And? Beka doesn't get that upset over nothing."

"I may have taken a few guilders. I'm a little broke." Good old Rafe. Downplay the offense in hopes of easier consequences. An oldie but a goodie.

Tyr took it rather well. "Give them back to Beka and be grateful I didn't catch you." Leaving the consequences of that to the imagination, he towered for a few more seconds before walking off to the small kitchenette, Rafe following close behind. Beka had to switch the commlink to the next room to hear them, but she couldn't see.

"I was wondering. Nietzschean males have multiple wives, correct?"

"Most do, yes."

"I know my sister. Beka would object."

"She did." She could almost hear the smile in his voice. That been a major triumph, from his point of view especially, when they'd found that old Kodiak law. It had been getting to be a problem until then, as he wanted them to mate and she hadn't liked the idea of sharing with someone else. "We found a loophole."

"Which is?"

"If I decide to mate with another woman, she has full veto power."

"So she decides who you marry?"

"Yes."

"Isn't that against a law or tradition or something?"

"Not if youre Kodiak. As my First, it's perfectly within her rights. Most prides don't actually install that little loophole. Now," definitely rummaging through a cupboard, "are you through with the interrogation?"

"Why'd you marry her? She has no money, little property, and she's not Nietzschean."

"She's also tough, strong, intelligent, beautiful, and devious or straightforward, depending on which suits her purpose." Whoa. He was laying it on thick. "Besides, emotional attachments can be very persuasive."

"Wait. You're in love with my sister? Rebecca Valentine? The one who's notorious for thieving, smuggling, and unsuccessful relationships?"

"Now she's known for being First Officer of the High Guard _Andromeda Ascendant_ and married to a Nietzschean."

Her legs were starting to cramp and it was decidedly time to intervene. She hit the buttons to roll open the airlock door. "Hey. I forgot that flexi for Dylan. Did you see where I left it, Tyr?"

He was startled. "I think you left it on the dresser."

"Thank you."

Silence reigned for the seconds it took to get the flexi and exit again. As she left, she reached over to turn off the commlink, only to hear the voices resume again.

* * *

"I want him off the ship," Tyr demanded.

"Tyr..." Beka sighed, watching him. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed in their cabin watching him pace. Every few laps he'd stop and swing at the punching bag in the corner.

"Dylan wants him off the ship. Harper wants him off the ship. Even the ship wants him off the ship! You're the only one who insists that we let him stay, and you're in the most danger from his actions."

"Tyr, I'm not in any danger. It's Rafe, for God's sake! He won't hurt his sister!" She hoped she was right about that, at least.

The statement had not appeased him. "Hes tried to kill you once before. How can you know that he won't again?"

"This time he didn't show up as a Wayist."

"It makes no difference!" He concentrated his efforts on the punching bag. "Why do you think he showed up now, of all times?"

"We're between rounds with the Magog and the New Nietzschean Alliance?" She was trying to lighten the mood slightly, but the grim humor fell flat.

Tyr wasn't really listening. "I don't know what he's up to. That's what worries me." He paused. "He was asking me questions this afternoon, about the difference between traditional Nietzschean practices and us. Multiple wives, genealogy, even if I've ever hit you." He left the punching bag and sat down next to her, staring aimlessly into space.

"Which you haven't."

"And I won't. Ever." He looked up, straight into her eyes. "And if anything does, or hurts you in any way, I will personally track it down and exact payment, slowly and painfully. Even if it's your brother."

They sat like that for a moment. Quiet descended, broken only by the occasional creak of the decks. Finally, he reached up and gingerly traced the curve of her jaw. He still did that- treat her gently, act like she was made of china. When they'd first been together, hed been delicate with her, almost scared to touch her. Now that gentleness surfaced in the quiet moments. Like this. Like now.

"That protection," he whispered, brushing a thumb over her lips, "covers you," his gaze fell to the curves of her stomach, sharply evident against the stretched fabric of her tank top, "this baby," his eyes returned to hers, "and any others we may have."

Her lips curled upward slightly. "Let's just see how we go with this one before we start planning for more, shall we?"

"I think we can hold off that long," Tyr conceded. He grinned and tilted his forehead against hers. Beka grinned back.


	5. Truth Told

Author's Note: Enjoy! And keep in mind that this takes up immediately from where Chapter Four ended, and I mean immediately as in extension of the final scene.

****

Calling Rafe

Chapter Five: Truth Told

By B.L.A. the Mouse

There was a choked gurgle over by the door. Without a pause, they rolled off the opposite sides of the bed, hitting the floor at the same time. In perfect sync, they picked up their guns from their respective locations and whipped them around to point at the source of the sound.

It was Rafe.

"Dammit, Rafe, don't sneak up on us like that. We could have shot you," Beka complained, turning to put her gun back in her belt, lying by the bed. He didn't say a word. She turned back, noting with mild amusement that Tyr still held his gun- lowered, but by his side.

Rafe was staring at her. His eyes fell to her waistline and raised back to her face, flicked a glance over to Tyr, then back to her stomach.

_Oh, no._ Too late she realized what fascinated him. She moved toward him and opened her mouth to start explaining, but he turned and sprinted back the way he had come, down the corridor. She and Tyr glanced at each other, she sighed, and they took off down the corridor after her brother. They caught up right as he dodged into his cabin, the door closing and the lock clicking on.

"Rafe, let me in. _Maru_, deactivate door lock!" She slammed her fist against the door, remembering with the rush of pain exactly what the little junkheap was made of.

"Authorization code, open the damned door!"

"Authorization code not accepted."

"Secondary code, Valentine 202."

"Secondary authorization not accepted."

She kicked the door and got a sore toe. Tyr reached past her and tapped at the keypad beside the door. No luck. Finally, she sighed again. "This is no use. He changed the codes and I can't get in. Let's just go to bed. We can catch him in the morning."

* * *

But they couldn't find Rafe- he was up and gone before they were. To judge from their luck, he wasn't even on the_ Andromeda_. After going through one or two of the AI's security codes, Beka managed to isolate him that night as being in the Officer's Mess.

He looked up from his meal as they walked in. Tyr stayed by the door, blocking it. The few crew in the room eyed him warily, but relaxed when they realized he wasn't there for one of their number. Instead, they transferred their attention to Beka; aware that some sort of showdown was about to take place, the room grew amazingly quiet.

Beka circled the table, slowing as she reached Rafe. "So, long time, no see, huh?" she asked, staring down at him. She had left the vest behind in the cabin this morning, since her brother had found out and everyone else on the crew knew.

"Hi, Rocket." He gulped. "Sorry I missed breakfast, I had some stuff I had to do."

_Amazing. He stares down thugs and security daily, but he's scared of his own sister._ "We need to talk," she said, pinching his ear painfully and pulling him up and out of the room. He followed along unwillingly. Beka would have sworn that the rest of the dinner crowd was beginning to smirk, and even Tyr had a smug smile on his face as he stepped aside to let them pass.

Once they were outside, she pressed him back against the wall. "How much did you hear?"

Tyr had followed them out. Now he came up behind her. She could feel his hands on her shoulders as he whispered, "Beka, don't scare him. This is supposed to be good news, remember?"

She looked back at him and smiled sweetly. "I'm allowed to be intimidating once in a while, you know."

"Don't. It doesn't work as well on you. Now you might want to talk to him before he runs." He kissed her forehead.

"I hate it when you patronize me." She turned back to Rafe. "How much _did_ you hear?"

He was cornered, but retained his usual cockiness. "Well, I'm not going to make any real overt guesses here, but I'm thinking that I'm going to be an uncle real soon."

"In five months," Tyr put in.

Rafe stayed mute, looked between them for a second, a grin stretching across his face. "I give up."

Beka was confused. "What do you mean, you give up?"

"I give up," he repeated. "I concede the point. My sister, Rebecca Valentine, Booster Rocket, Valentine Smart, is now wife to a Nietzschean, mother extraordinaire, barefoot and pregnant, and will never again go clubbing, hit bars, or join in on a killer deal, let alone run around the galaxy for a cargo job."

"I'm not barefoot. I may not run around in a cargo job, but I will do the occasional jaunt. I will go clubbing, hit bars, and join in on deals." Beka leaned back against Tyr, and he began to rub his hands over her shoulders, almost absentmindedly. "I'll just take my husband along. And you can baby-sit." She started to laugh, as did Tyr, at the statement on Rafe's face.

* * *

Tyr was lying on the bed, flexi in hand, when Beka came in that night. She sat down on the bed as he asked, "What took you so long?"

She reached over and swatted him in the arm. "For your information, I was putting the _Maru_ to bed. A couple of the valves are worn out, and I had to jury-rig something. I'll get replacement valves in the morning."

"Don't bother. I'll get them. You have the early shift." Tyr pulled her over next to him, still not putting down the flexi. "How's your brother handling the news?"

"At the moment, he's locked in his cabin, and I heard him ranting through the door. Something about having half-Nietzschean nephews?" Beka allowed herself to be pulled, curling into his side and his arm around her shoulders.

He rubbed her upper arm. "I thought you wanted a girl?"

"Either'll do, really, but a girl would be nice. I think he'd prefer a boy, and I know you do." She read a line off the flexi. "Both sides of the child's heritage must be nurtured if its self-confidence is ever to develop- What is this? Child psychology?"

Tyr shrugged, looking positively sheepish.

"No way, Anasazi." She plucked the flexi from his fingers, shut it off, and pitched it in the general direction of the floor. "You are not psychoanalyzing the baby."

"That is not psychoanalysis. I was reading background information for raising a child. You do, after all."

"Not psychiatric guides." She leaned her head on his chest and closed her eyes. "Come on, Tyr. Sleep now. Argue later."

"Tired?"

"Very."

He combed his fingers through her short hair. "I liked it long."

"You didn't have to take care of it."

"It suited you."

"It's been gone for ages. Get over it."

"All right." He waited a minute, then asked, "So how's our baby?"

"It's fine. I have a check-up in a week; we'll see then."

"Mm."

Tyr kept his arm around her and reached over with the other, resting his hand lightly over her stomach. Beka put her hand over his, let out the slightest of sighs. She was warm, and comfortable, and all her family was right nearby, for the moment.


	6. Just a Little Job

Author's Note: Let's see, I think there are spoilers for "It Makes a Lovely Light." The next chapter may be up in as late as two weeks, but hopefully not. I apologize for the delay. Thank you.

****

Calling Rafe

Chapter Six: Just a Little Job

By B.L.A. the Mouse

When they came out of the airlock in the morning, Rafe was loitering by the airlock. "So where are you going?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Breakfast," Beka answered, reaching past him to tap the controls. "Where are you going?"

"The same." He fell into step beside as she started to walk. Tyr retreated to his usual position when there was a third person with them, a step or two behind Beka. Rafe ignored him. "I thought you didn't like breakfast."

"I don't. Tyr insists, though, that 'as long as you are carrying, feeding, or in any way caring for our child, you will set a good example,' which means eating three squares a day, or the equivalent, and I'm actually inclined to agree with him, for the time being."

Rafe looked between them. "Dad never took that much care with our food."

"Tyr isn't flash-fried half the time and doing deals the rest," Beka said quietly, watching as Rafe winced. She had gotten used to that fact about her father not very long after she'd gotten hooked. Making peace with that particular demon had been a required activity. "He's a Nietzschean. They look out for their families. Besides, I appreciate it; he's taking better care of me than I ever did." A laugh accompanied her last statement, but not a very convincing one.

"With regard to food, you need someone to look after you. You don't eat enough," Tyr put in.

"I do, Tyr, you just got pricklier about it after I got pregnant."

"I became more concerned when you became solely responsible for our child's health as well as yours."

During the conversation, Rafe fell behind Beka, while Tyr moved up beside her. Now her brother watched as the argument continued.

"You make it sound like I'm some ditz that insists on starving herself. I can manage to keep us both fed."

"Yes, but you tend to think of eating more as coffee and no breakfast, neither of which are good for you, let alone the baby."

"I've cut down on coffee and I've started eating breakfast more," Beka defended, "which I'd do even if you weren't involved!"

Tyr blew air out through his lips impatiently. "Why wouldn't I be involved?"

"Um, not to interrupt, but...?" A very annoyed Beka swung around to glare at Rafe, and she knew Tyr was doing the same. He shrank slightly, but kept his ground. "How often do you two fight?"

Beka thought for a second, tallying up the answer. "About once or twice a week," she answered. "Why?"

"This makes the second or third fight since I've been here, that's all."

She shrugged. "Keeps life interesting. Coming?" and swung into the mess hall that they'd reached during the argument.

* * *

Several minutes later they had gotten their breakfasts and sat down when Rafe asked, "Why do you have the same shifts so often?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" Tyr countered quietly.

Beka grinned at Tyr's comment, but lay down her fork long enough to explain, "After we got married, Dylan started to coordinate our shifts so we could spend as much time together as we want. Sometimes one of us will get a really awkward shift, but only when it's really necessary. It'll probably stay the same after the baby comes." She noted Rafe's wince at the word "baby" with amusement, then intercepted Tyr's look. "I know, I know. Eat." She put fork to food with a will; she was hungry anyway.

She knew Rafe had stopped eating and was regarding her and Tyr with an appraising gaze. "What?"

He smirked. "You said you'd be up to the occasional jaunt. How about one worth an imperial?"

Beka leaned forward, interested. "How long, where to, and do we need the Maru?"

Rafe echoed her movement. "A month, tops, including transit. Rochester Drift. We'll definitely need it. And, you, my straight-laced baby sister, can relax- it's not illegal."

"That's good." In contrast to their intent positions, Tyr leaned back in his chair. "What will we have to do?"

"'We'?" Rafe regarded him blankly. "What do you mean, we?"

Tyr regarded him impassively. "You honestly think I would let any pregnant wife of mine go on a month-long trip without making sure there was someone along I could actually trust? There is no one I trust more than myself."

"You don't trust me? I'm hurt." He feigned injury and offense.

Beka decided to intercede. "I'm wondering the same thing as Tyr: what is the job?"

"It's just buying something off someone and selling it to a certain other someone," Rafe answered, his eyes starting to glitter.

"How is a straight-up resale going to net an imperial?"

"We have a very ignorant seller. If you're uncomfortable, I could do it myself, if you'll lend me the _Maru_. I just can't get that far with the shuttle."

"No, you are not taking my ship without me along," Beka said sharply.

Rafe just stared at her and shook his head solemnly.

"What?"

"With that tone, you never have to worry about the kid disobeying you."

"It comes from spending too much time with you and Harper. And Trance, too." She smiled, then turned her attention back to the important issue. "So I don't trust you alone with the _Maru_, Tyr doesn't want me going without him, and I want in on all this. So I'll see if I can get Dylan to let us all off for a month." She looked down at her plate. She had cleaned it without realizing it.

* * *

Beka leaned on the desk. She had invited herself into Dylan's office, hoping that he'd be distracted by work. "Dylan, mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure," he mumbled, preoccupied with the flexi in front of him.

"Tyr and I need a month off and unlimited access to the _Maru_, no questions asked."

"Sure," he muttered again, before what she'd asked registered. "Wait- a month?"

She sighed; she'd been hoping that he'd just authorize it and forget. "Yes, a month. Rafe, Tyr and I have a job set up."

"Where to and is it legal?" Dylan put the flexi down and reverted to full Captain mode.

"Rochester Drift, and yes, it's legal, otherwise Rafe wouldn't have asked me to do this."

"No."

"It's my ship."

"It's called going AWOL."

"Dylan!" She sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk, irritated. "All I need is a few weeks off duty. Tyr, too. We'll be back before you know it."

He offered up a protest. "What about the baby? You're four months along. A lot can happen in a month. Trance will want to keep track of the progress. And in your case, the risk-"

She cut him off. "There's always a risk. It's just a little higher in my case, but not enough to worry about. Besides, there are doctors at the drift. It's one of the better ones."

The captain tried one more time. "The New Nietzschean Alliance could start to cause trouble. What will I do without two of my senior staff?"

Beka shrugged. "The same thing you always do- improvise." She smiled. "So, can we go then?"

Dylan waved his hand in her direction as if bestowing a blessing. "Go, but be back as soon as you can. And be careful!" The last words were shouted at her back as she left.

Outside, Tyr and Rafe leaned on either side of the door, eyeing each other suspiciously. They still hadn't gotten over their mutual distrust. They snapped their attention to Beka when she came through the door and beamed triumphantly at them. "Gentlemen, we leave in the morning!"


	7. And We're Off

Spoilers: A lot for this chapter, but mainly for "Its Hour Come Round At Last", "The Widening Gyre", and "A Heart for Falsehood Framed" and "Home Fires". I've decided to ignore "Una Salus Victus" for story and simplicity reasons.

Author's Note: This is my longest chapter yet in this story, but it's kind of important, as it gives a lot of backstory. Thank you all for the reviews so far. I feel that I must warn you about something, however; this chapter deals with character death and miscarriage. If either of these, particularly the latter, bother you, please don't read further- I have no desire to cause anyone distress.

****

Calling Rafe

Chapter Seven: And We're Off

By B.L.A. the Mouse

Beka decided to check with Trance before they left and arranged a meeting on Med deck that night. She arrived early.

"Trance?" she called, with no response. "All right, I'll just wait." She went over to the nearest console and punched up on of the schematics, studying it carefully.

It was the file Trance was keeping on her pregnancy. Everything was listed; height and weight, both hers and an approximation of the baby's; progress, test results, scans made. The only thing missing was the baby's sex, which Beka had asked her to blank, as she didn't want to know until the baby was actually born. At the bottom there were Trance's carefully worded notations, calculated not to reveal whether they were having a boy or a girl.

Bekas hand went to her stomach as she read over the notes. They were also phrased delicately so they didn't state one fact quite so bluntly: they had an immense risk of losing the baby. She had known, when she reassured Dylan, that she was downplaying the chances. Besides the fact that Tyr was Nietzschean, which raised the risk, there was that misdiagnosis. It was ironic- the baby would be fine once it was born, she just had to ensure that she carried it for at least seven months.

"Hey, Beka," Trance said, walking in. "Did you say that you wanted me to do a checkup? You do know that you're not due for another week."

"I know, but I'll be at Rochester Drift in a week, so I figured it might be a good idea to get you to look now." She lay down on the medical bed, already familiar with the procedure, and waited as Trance activated the scans. "Rafe has this great deal lined up. Worth a full imperial, actually. Tyr and I are going with him on the _Maru_." She heard the faint hum of the scans stop and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "So, anything new?"

Trance smiled. "Plenty, but it's all normal. Eyes, ears, fingers, toes, even the bonespurs are developing. They'll stay under the skin for a few months after it's born, though."

"It's going to have bonespurs? Tyr'll be happy about that." They hadn't known whether it would or not. "Can I see?"

"Sure." Trance turned the monitor in her direction. "Look, there's an arm, that's the umbilical cord, there's its head and right there is a set of bonespurs... You should be able to feel it moving soon." She pointed out each body part, even though the scanned picture was clear enough that she didn't have to. "I need a blood sample and some amniotic fluid for a test, but that'll only take a minute. Can you lie back down?"

"What are these for?" Beka asked as she leaned back.

"These," Trance pulled amniotic fluid, flinching sympathetically, "are going to test for problems. Arm, please." She used another needle and drew blood. "One minute." She started up the machine and put in the ampoules.

Beka straightened. "I probably won't be gone all that long, but what happens when I hit five months?" To her surprise, the purple girl blushed a dark violet. "What?"

"Well," she started to rearrange a medical tray, "since you're high risk..." She was having trouble forming the next few words.

"Just say it, Trance."

"You're four and a half months along now. When you reach five months, it might be a good idea if," she took a deep breath, leaned forward conspiratorially, and whispered, "if you stopped having sex." She turned her normal shade and stood back up, looking pleased with herself that she had gotten the words out.

Beka was taken aback. "Nothing? For four months?"

"Nothing for four and a half. You're forgetting that you'll need a couple of weeks to heal after the baby's born."

"Remind me again why I'm doing this?"

"Because after four months, you and Tyr are going to have a beautiful little baby that you're going to love, I promise."

"You can't promise that. We could still lose it." Beka's hand drifted back to the bulge of her belly. She didn't want to anything to happen to the baby. She hadn't wanted it quite this early, but now that she had it, she couldn't lose it. She felt tears begin to prick at the corners of her eyes.

"No," Trance said forcefully. "I can't promise that. All I can tell you with any certainty is that, if you're really careful about health, and stress levels, and physical exertion, you're going to have a wonderful, healthy baby girl." She paused. "Or boy."

Beka half-smiled; it was better than crying. "Being prophetic, Trance?"

"Maybe." She quirked a corner of her lips up. "Or maybe I'm just guessing."

* * *

"You guys ready to go?" Beka asked, pulling the pilot's chair up to the controls. She knew what Tyr was going to say before he said it.

"You are not piloting."

"Yes, I am." She flipped through the last of the preflight checks.

"No, you're not. Trance told you to avoid stress and physical exertion, and slipstreaming involves both." She had told him about the conversation the night before.

Beka sighed. "Those guidelines don't take effect until the fifth month. I've got two more weeks that I intend to take advantage of." All of the systems were clear to go. She reached for the straps, saying, "The only way you're getting me out of this is if I'm unconscious or in labor."

Beka yelped as Tyr lifted her out of the chair.

"What are you doing!"

"Discovering that there's another way to get you out."

He carried her back to the galley and gently deposited her on the counter. "You are not piloting."

"The _hell_ I'm not!" she snorted, pushing off the counter and turning to the cockpit.

He intercepted her. "Beka, did I not warn you going into this? I'm going to be overprotective, and nag you about every little detail, and not let you do anything." He looked into her eyes. "I'm going to do everything in my power to insure that you and the baby are healthy and finish this pregnancy full-term. That includes piloting this ship instead of letting you endanger two lives."

"Tyr..." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. He returned the gesture. "All right, you can fly slipstream. I fly it whenever we have an appreciable distance between portals. Be careful about those valves, they may be a little stiff. And if you do anything to my ship, you're not going to live to see this kid born. Clear?"

"Perfectly." Tyr kissed her. "And now we have to get started before your brother gets impatient."

"You're a little late for that," Rafe interrupted from where he stood by the airlock door. "I got impatient a week ago."

"Hang on, we're going," Beka said mildly, untangling herself from her husband. "All we need is launch confirmation and we're gone." She called after Tyr, already retreating to the cockpit, "Remember, be careful of the valves! "

* * *

Rafe was staring at her from where he was sitting drinking coffee. She'd already noticed, from being stuck on the same ship for a week with nowhere else to go, that that was almost all he drank. The stare, though, was starting to get unnerving.

Beka poured herself a glass of the juice sitting on the counter and joined him at the table. "You can stop staring, I think it's obvious that I'm pregnant."

He looked bemused. "No, I can see that. I was just wondering- how did you get to this? I visited you three years ago- you were single, independent. You were just staying on _Andromeda_ until something better came along. Now, you're married, expecting, and second-in-command of the New Commonwealth. What happened?"

"What happened?" she repeated. "What happened was, we got attacked by Magog, the Commonwealth started to catch on, and I fell in love."

He stared. "You? In love?"

"Yes. It's been known to happen," she defended. "Tyr didn't leave, though." Unlike every single other male she had formed an emotional attachment to, including Dad and Rafe.

"I'll bet he wouldn't, after he got you pregnant," Rafe said unpleasantly.

"Rafe!" She sat up, furious. "If you even think that-"

"Then how exactly did all this happen?" Rafe demanded. "You haven't explained it, and I've had to pick up what I can. We've still got a day or two until we reach Rochester Drift, you have time to explain it."

"All right, but make yourself comfortable; it's a long story." She took a quick sip of her drink and started.

"Where it really starts, I guess, is almost a year after you came by. Andromeda malfunctioned and sent us on an old mission of hers. Before we could repair her and turn around, we were boarded by Magog. We..." She stopped. This had always been hard to think about, let alone talk of. "Tyr and Harper were infested with Magog larvae. Trance removed Tyr's and he barely survived, while Harper is taking medicine to keep his dormant. Dylan and Rommie were trapped in a nova bomb explosion and it was- if everything had gone like it should, they would be dead. Even Rev was pretty disturbed; it's part of the reason why he left.

"Something like that tends to change your viewpoint. About a week later, Tyr and I ran into each other on Obs. Deck. He apologized for being a pompous, prejudiced ass. I didn't have that much to apologize for, but I hadn't been all that pleasant to him over a year. I guess we started being friends right around then, so some good came out of it."

Here she stopped again. Her throat was already feeling dry, and some of what she talked about was hard to say. The Magog, both encounters with the Worldship, even Rev... so much of it had been terrifying or grievous that it was hard to look back.

Still she swallowed, took a deep breath, and plunged onward. "Rev, I think, had it the hardest of all of us then. We all came so close to death, but we survived. A part of him... didn't. He killed other Magog, came up against a creature that had claimed to be his god; he wasn't ever the same after that. He became more reclusive, and only stayed onboard for six months before leaving for a monastery. Right before the final battle with the Magog, we received word that he'd starved himself to death, just stopped eating. Said he couldn't live with himself anymore." She choked and could feel her eyes tear up. She hadn't really talked about this, and it never seemed like she had stopped grieving for Rev.

Rafe didn't say a word, but produced a tissue from somewhere and waited for her to finish.

"I'm sorry," she said when she regained the power of speech. "Rev was one of the reasons I wanted to do away with Enigma and the Worldship. We all had reasons- Harper had the larvae and his cousins, Dylan had the Commonwealth, I had family, and we all fought for Rev."

"Family?" Rafe asked. "What family? It's just you and me."

"Actually, by the time we went into battle with the Worldship, Tyr and I had been married a year already. I was scared that something would happen to him- all the senior staff were on different ships, coordinating the effort. I was on the ship from Terazed, and Tyr was on the Nietzschean's flagship. I still can't remember what exactly happened during that battle. I had nightmares for weeks afterward, just woke up screaming that everyone had died and left me-

"I'd rather not go into it. Suffice it to say that we had a hell of a time recovering."

Beka bit her lip as she realized something. "I'm sorry. You wanted to hear about Tyr and me, not about this. Should I go back to the beginning?"

"Just a little."

"After the first encounter with the Worldship, we stopped at Pierpont Drift. I don't know if you remember Dad's police reports, but he mentioned Schrödinger's Cat."

"I think I heard of him. Come on, Rocket, of course I do!" Rafe leaned forward. "Bordeaux Crown of Holyoke in a beer barrel."

"His real name's Leydon Bryce-Hawkins, and he admired the Valentine Music Labyrinth. Anyway, we got a little involved and," she paused to decide how to phrase it, "well, have you ever seen a green Nietzschean?"

Rafe was amused. "He didn't take it well?"

"Hardly. He-"

"Tried to choke him, but didn't get enough time to before security arrived," Tyr finished easily. Neither sibling had heard him enter, and now he moved further into the room, lifting her off her chair and sitting down on it, holding her on his lap with one arm. "The ship's on autopilot. I got tired of waiting for you to take your turn, so I came back here to see what you were talking about."

"Tyr!" Beka twisted, trying to get loose, but his hold around her waist was firm. "Why did you do that?"

"Because a pregnant woman should have a softer seat than that chair."

She faced him and grinned coquettishly. "You're going to spoil me, you know. How am I going to survive after the baby comes?"

"We'll figure something out," he promised, pressing his lips against her own. She slid a hand along his jaw as he deepened the kiss.

They heard Rafe cough. Beka turned to see him studying the ceiling. "I get the hint. Where was I?"

"Schrödinger's Cat."

"Right. After Tyr's color-changing episode- ah!" She arched backward as Tyr ran his finger up along her spine. "Don't _do_ that!"

"Don't mention Pierpont."

"I can always find another seat."

"I won't let you."

"Tyr..." Beka saw Rafe's face, impatience obvious. "Okay, okay, after Pierpont. We started to spend more time together, so much that even Rev began to comment. After he made me dinner one night, well we didn't go back." She smiled, remembering. "We got married six months after Pierpont. Rev oversaw the ceremony- it was only a few weeks before he left. Dylan gave us the entire week off, and I don't think we ever left our cabin.

"Tyr, naturally, wanted to try for kids right away-"

"Somehow I don't think I need to hear this," Rafe interrupted hastily.

"Relax, I'm not going to go into more detail." She laughed silently at her brothers nervous fidgeting. "I managed to talk him back to after we defeated the Worldship. I told you about that. I stopped taking birth control immediately after that. We just figured we'd let it go and see what happened." She fell silent, cursing herself for that stupid oversight.

"So that's the entire story?"

"No, it isnt." Beka leaned back against Tyr, and he moved both hands to cover her stomach. She spread her fingers on the table and studied them, so she wouldn't have to look Rafe in the face. Numbly, she said, "I completely forgot to tell Trance or Rommie. I conceived after two months, but the signs were so flu-like that that's what Trance diagnosed. I wasn't sure, so I took the medicine she gave me." She swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat. "Between the medicine and the fact that Tyr's Nietzschean, I have a thirty-five percent chance of miscarriage or early labor."


	8. Cargo Bay Four

Author's Note: I apologize for the delay of this chapter. The computer problems I'm having mean that I have to use borrowed computers- it can get a bit inconvenient at times. I appreciate your patience.

Thank for all the reviews so far- you people are great!

This is another chapter that picks up from the end of the last one.

****

Calling Rafe

Chapter Eight: Cargo Bay Four

By B.L.A. the Mouse

Rafe's gaze darted between them. "Thirty-five. That's not that high, is it?"

Beka kept her eyes trained on her hands. "Actually, it is." Chancing a look at him, she met his eyes and held them. "So I'm not allowed to do anything remotely strenuous until after the baby's born. That's why we're worried about the legality of this job; if it's the least bit hazardous, you have to tell us now."

He opened his mouth to start speaking, but the alarm set to indicate their slipstream portal beeped. Tyr and Beka headed for the cockpit while Rafe tried to escape, and both demand and answer were lost in the shuffle.

* * *

They arrived at the drift two days later, with a total of nine days in transit. Rafe spent all his time evading their questioning about the job and arranging a meeting with their seller. On the second day after their arrival, Rafe received confirmation of place and time and went to find Beka. He found her in an ornately decorated shop, working on spending the money from the disk sale and some more besides.

As he approached, Beka asked Tyr, "Look at this. How many women actually wear stuff like this?" as she held up a magenta maternity shirt, frilled and ruffled within an inch of its life. Tyr didn't comment, but grinned as she pitched back onto a pile of similar shirts.

His expression reverted to that of boredom. "Beka, if you don't like anything in this store, can we go somewhere else? Since I'm not going to wear these, it lacks a certain amount of entertainment value."

"Wimp," she teased, but started toward the door. "All right, let's go. All this pink," she waved at the décor, "is making my skin crawl." She saw Rafe. "You're off the _Maru_. Does that mean you've actually set up a meeting?"

"Three hours from now, we meet him in Cargo Bay Four."

"Good. Now," she pulled him out of the store and over to the side of the main thoroughfare, "just how illegal is this? You haven't answered that question yet."

His eyes slid to the side. "Well, it's not exactly illegal, just frowned on."

"Rafe!"

"What? It's not illegal!"

"Is there the slightest chance that anything could go wrong?"

"There's always a chance that something could go wrong." He caught her look- somewhere between give-me-a-break and a death glare- and added hastily, "But in this case, it's negligible."

"All right, we meet in three hours." Beka turned from him and looked around. She had to find a clothing shop that dealt in maternity clothes with some reason behind their existence, or else she had to take up sewing to make all her clothes fit. And sewing was not something that Beka Valentine-Anasazi did.

* * *

The cargo bay was cluttered, but not with their seller. The three of them had been waiting fifteen minutes to meet him, who (according to Rafe) was usually punctual.

"Are you sure he said Cargo Bay Four, at 1500?" Beka asked as she paced past her brother, sitting dejected on a crate.

"Yes," he snapped, "I checked it three times. He must have been delayed."

Tyr lounged against a stack of cartons. "How does one become this delayed on a drift?"

"Legal trouble?"

Rafe received a glare as Beka demanded, "How much haven't you told us?"

"I've told you everything important! Except..."

"Except what?" tersely.

He got a silly little grin on his face. "This stuff may not be hot, at least on this drift, but it's still a little warm."

"What is it, Rafe?"

"A chemical substitute for Flash, according to this guy. I've run tests on a sample of it- it's exactly the same, only much more potent. He has no idea how much resale value this stuff has!"

Tyr bellowed, "What?" He started to reach for Rafe, but Beka beat him there.

She snagged his collar and hauled him to his feet, pulling him up until they were face to face. "Are you insane?"

"Er..." Rafe looked between her and Tyr, glowering off to the side. "Yes?"

"You damn well are!" She let go and shoved him onto a crate. "Do you have any idea what that stuff does to you? Don't you remember Dad? Flash defines your life until it kills you. It did it to Dad, it nearly did it to me! Why are you running the risk? Do you want to be responsible for murdering everyone who takes it?"

"Wait, you took Flash?" He frowned curiously up at her from his splayed position. "You? Rocket?"

Beka sighed, ran a hand through her hair. "Yes, I did. It's not exactly something I'm proud of. Some of the crew managed to get me off it. Back to the subject at hand, though- why are you doing that?"

"It makes money. And rest assured I will not take that stuff. I'm not stupid."

"That's what I said. And then I nearly piloted us into a black hole." She turned to Tyr. "Let's go. I'll get the-"

There was a low metallic groan under her words. She stopped, listening to the sound of the distressed superstructure. Recognizing the ominous tones, she dived for a bulkhead, Tyr and Rafe following suit.

That noise was all the warning they got. There was a sickening screech of rending metal, simultaneous with a lurch to the side. They hadn't quite reached the wall when it occurred, and were thrown the rest of the way. Beka slammed into the wall front-first, with a grunt that rapidly turned into a pained moan. Her stomach had made hard contact with the wall; she brushed a hand over it as she faced the center of the bay.

The first thing she saw was a tower of crates falling directly toward her.

A hand on her arm pulled her to the side, out of the way, and a body covered hers to protect her from the flying wreckage.

Tyr pinned her to the wall as the drift's heaving intensified and the room became a tornado. The dreadful metallic screeching continued, assaulting their ears. Boxes fell, their contents exploding out on impact, bits of metal, plastic, and junk soaring haphazardly through the room. The tumbling was making her sick, and pinpoints of debris stung her face and hands, despite her human shield. Her heart was in her throat as she clutched at Tyr's shirt and felt warm, sticky blood. She only hoped Rafe had found safe harbor.

What seemed an eternity later, the motion stopped, and the wreckage slowly began to settle. The drift stayed at a list, though, and the lights flickered every few moments. Beka slowly opened her eyes and looked into Tyr's. "Are you all right?" she asked, focusing on the crimson splash on his shoulder.

He glanced at the affected area. "I'll be fine. How are you and the baby?" He eased her hands away from his chest and began examining their many nicks and cuts.

"We're good. A little shook up, but not even that badly, thanks to you." She patted her swollen abdomen. The inhabitant made no comment. "Did you see where Rafe went?"

"I'm here," her brother responded, muffled, from underneath a heap of cartons and carton shards. "I'm okay, but I need help getting out. I was just waiting for the end of your love-fest before I said anything to interrupt."

"Rafe..." Beka rolled her eyes, but started to pull a broken crate off the top of the pile. Tyr helped, taking the heavier ones. Even Rafe made a few paltry attempts at assistance from where he was located.

They worked in silence for several minutes. After that, Rafe was able to push the rest of the boxes off and stand. "Like coming out of a cocoon," he said, brushing himself off.

"Yeah, but a bug looks better," Beka replied, looking him over. He was cut, bleeding, a few bruises were starting to come out, and she didn't even want to know what the glowing purple goo on his shoulder was. "Ooh," she gasped suddenly, putting a hand to her stomach; she hadn't felt the baby move much till now, and it must have chosen to celebrate with one heck of a hard kick.

"Beka? Is something wrong?" Tyr moved to her side, putting his hand over hers, while Rafe looked on concernedly.

She didn't answer for a minute, waiting to see if anything else happened. After there wasn't any more pain or movement for that long, she told them uncertainly, "Yeah. Yeah, Im fine." Glancing between her brother and her husband, she got a wave of dizziness and her stomach turned. She hadn't felt like that since her morning sickness had started to ebb. "On second thought, maybe I should sit down for a while," letting Tyr lead her over to an intact crate.

"Rocket? Are you sure you're all right?"

"No. But what difference does it make?" At his puzzled statement, Beka, still with a hand over her belly, explained, "The drift is probably on emergency lockdown. If that's the case, then we won't be able to get out. Go check."

After tapping the keypad several times, Rafe got no response. "She's dead. It'll take me some time to open it."

"So start working- ouch!" _That_ was not a kick, hard or otherwise. It lasted too long and hurt too much.

"Beka?"

"Rafe, do it." She turned to Tyr. Lowering her voice so as not to alarm Rafe, she informed him, "We need to get out of here, now, and get to a doctor. Something is seriously wrong- I think I'm getting contractions."

"It's too early!" He kneeled down beside her and covered her stomach with his hand, frowning.

"Owww!" Beka watched Tyr's scowl deepen as another spasm of pain went through her. She grabbed his free hand, squeezing it as the slightly-more-than-a-twinge of pain surged and lessened- each burst was getting successively worse. Not only was this too early, it was happening too fast. Looking up to see her brother staring at her, she snapped, "Open the door, dammit!" He went back to work.

"I could feel the muscles contracting," Tyr murmured, removing his hand from her stomach. He left the other in her grasp. "Are they getting worse?"

"Yes! That first one? Felt kinda like a kick. This one? Worst muscle cramp _ever_!" she hissed.

"Anything else? Has your water broken?"

"No." She looked over at the door, Rafe working frantically to open it. "How long do you think that'll take?"

"A few-"

"Got it!" Rafe sang as the door whined open. "You were right- the entire drift is on emergency lockdown, something about a meteorite hit that damaged environmental and nav equipment. I found information access and put in this code for a medical emergency. We've got a doctor waiting."

"Good, let's go." Tyr pulled Beka to her feet. "Can you walk there?"

"Of course I can walk there. Move!" Beka headed for the door, ignoring the weak wave of dizziness that washed over her briefly. Tyr and Rafe followed in her wake.


	9. Reckoning

Author's Note: Bit of an odd place to put them, I know, but spoilers for "The Pearls That Were His Eyes." This is, again, delayed, and I apologize. This is a long chapter, though, if that makes up for it. I'm trying to stick to actual medical practices for this, but I may get some stuff wrong. I apologize in advance.

As for the reason this story disappeared- I'm sorry. A combination of Microsoft, AOL, and my own lack of computer genius is at fault. I'm sorry for any confusion this may have caused. Since I had to fudge some corrections on some of the chapters, a few details may be off from what you remember. I've tried to keep it as close as possible.

jm, I read your review, and decided to address it, since I've been told by others that you did bring up a valid point and after stopping to think about it, I agree. I do try to explain some of this in this chapter, and I ask you to keep in mind that I have a basic plan for this story, but I develop it as I go along, so there may be errors in set-up. I'm trying to correct or explain as many of them as possible, but I appreciate it when you point out something confusing or contradicting. Thanks, to all of you, for the reviews.

****

Calling Rafe

Chapter Nine: Reckoning

By B.L.A. the Mouse

They arrived in Medical quickly; Tyr had given up on letting her walk there, and instead carried her, with Rafe struggling to keep up. Tyr requisitioned a bed and put her on it, turning to meet a waiting doctor with a flexi. Rafe arrived seconds later, panting from the jog.

"Well," the short, bald physician said, "I'm Doctor Semper. I'll need your full name."

"Rebecca Valentine-Anasazi," Beka informed him curtly. "Aren't you supposed to be doing something other than identifying patients? Treating them, maybe? Ah!" She grabbed for Rafe's hand, as he was closer, and clenched it, ignoring the grimace that passed over his face.

For his part, the doctor ignored her second statement. "Valentine-Anasazi," he muttered, punching it onto the flexi. Looking at Rafe, he asked, "Are you Mister Anasazi? The father?"

"Hell no! I'm her brother!" Rafe was appalled by the thought, and winced again as Beka squeezed his hand. This time, it was out of irritation rather than pain.

"I'm Tyr Anasazi," Tyr told him. "Now that you know who we are and who the father is, you might treat Beka." He sounded lazily menacing, and Beka had to fight an ill-timed giggle at the doctor's look of sudden nervousness.

"You-youre Nietzschean?" he stammered, staring. "B-b-but she's human!"

"And you have inferior genes. Your point is?" He didn't wait for an answer, but increased the glower he was aiming at Semper. "My wife is in labor four months early. Treat her!"

The doctor held up his hands in self-defense. "I'm treating her!"

It must be said, when her treated her, he did so quickly and efficiently. His movements were quiet and neat; a swallowed sedative, to help her relax, an injected something to stop the contractions, another something in an IV- he didn't explain what that was for- monitoring both heart rates, checking blood pressure.

Semper continued in this vein for some time. Although he watched the doctor like a hawk, bridling whenever he approached with something, Tyr stood next to Beka's bed, giving her hand the intermittent gentle squeeze. Rafe got bored after fifteen minutes and took off in search of a bar, and hopefully information on why their seller had skipped out. Beka, for her part, was getting bored and drowsy, from the combined effects of the sedative and her earlier adrenaline rush. After a while, the contractions stopped, or at least lessened to the point where she couldn't feel them. She was starting to nod off when the doctor shocked her back to the real world, clearing his throat loudly to get her attention.

"Mr. Anasazi, Ms. Valentine," he began solemnly. Beka felt a tiny flutter of fear; he wouldn't be so serious if it were good news, would he?

Then Semper smiled. It was completely expected, but definitely a positive sign. He continued, "Your baby is perfectly healthy. In fact," he paused again, considering. "Do you know what sex it is yet?"

She said quickly, "No, we don't want to know until after it's born."

He nodded. "All right, then. _It_ is one of the most healthy, advanced babies I've ever seen at this stage."

Beka smiled. "That's great!"

"There's a but coming, isn't there?" Tyr asked, staring fixedly at Semper.

He squirmed. "Yes. In order to insure that the baby is born as close to full term as possible, there are a few guidelines you should go by."

"Like?" Beka did not like the sound of that.

"No strenuous exercise. Minor bed rest. Some stitches. You shouldn't even be traveling! I'll make you a complete list for you. In the meantime, try to relax." He patted her knee absentmindedly, like he was petting a dog, and went back to what appeared to be an office.

"Relax," she grumbled, turning on her side to face Tyr. "Sure, he can tell me to relax-" She cut herself off, stiffening as she felt the muscles in her abdomen clench. It hurt, but it was not a contraction. For one thing, it was located too high. For another... "How does he expect me to relax on an empty stomach?"

"I'll see if I can get you something to eat," Tyr offered, sitting on the edge of the bed.

She shook her head. "No, I'll wait until Rafe gets here. Then we can drive him nuts running errands."

"Making use of resources and taking revenge simultaneously. Nice. Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Just stay here and keep me company." Beka propped herself up on her elbows, Tyr shifting behind her so that his back was against the headrest and legs dangled off to one side. She lay back down, resting her head on his thighs, and he took her hand in one of his and began brushing stray hairs off her face with the other. She took no notice of the gesture, but looked down at her stomach and let her hand drift down to rest on its swell, gently caressing it for a moment. "We nearly lost her," she said quietly.

He slid a finger down the side of her face, pressing under her chin, making her look up at him. "Nearly. We still haven't, and we won't. He's got good genes and determined parents- both of you will be fine."

"He?"

"What?"

"You said he."

"We're even, then. You said her."

"For a good reason. Trance slipped- I told you about that." Beka looked back down to her abdomen. "Hear that, kid? You better prove her right."

Tyr leaned over her to address her stomach. "Don't listen. Confuse everyone and make Trance wrong."

"You're questioning my authority now?" She started to laugh. After the stress of the last hour, it felt good to joke about something. "What next, you give her a later bedtime than I do?"

He laughed, as well. Neither of them noticed the doctor slip back into the room until he spoke.

"May I ask what's so funny?"

They abruptly stopped. There was something about sharing the joke with Semper that made it not so funny anymore. Beka just said, "Nothing. Have you finished the list?"

"Yes." He extended the flexi. She took it, sitting up, and Tyr read over her shoulder. She was halfway down the list when she exploded.

"Sixteen hours? I have to stay in bed for sixteen hours a day? That's ridiculous!"

"That's nothing. I could make it closer to twenty-four, with your possibility for preterm labor." The doctor wasn't kidding.

"I can't even repair the _Maru_?"

"No. You can only do nonactive things, lying down, sixteen hours a day. And the rest of the time you have to restrict your movement."

Beka was going to argue the point further, but Tyr leaned over and murmured, "I'm inclined to agree with him. Just drop it and keep reading." She pressed her lips together in sheer frustration, but took his advice- until she reached the bottom.

"Stitches?"

The doctor looked exasperated. "Yes, stitches. Theyre a precautionary measure, in for three months. I put them in now, they're removed at eight months. I need to set some things up, but I'll be able to do the procedure in an hour."

"_Cervical_ stitches?"

Semper did not deign to answer, but turned back into the office.

Beka leaned back into her earlier position, handing the flexi to Tyr. She closed her eyes and moved her hand back to her stomach- he was still holding her other hand. "I can't pilot, I can't leave bed, I have to get stitches, we can't make love, Dylan'll probably order me to _Andromeda_ for the duration- we'd have to switch ships eventually, of course, I just didn't anticipate it so soon- and that isn't even all of it. Why don't you have to suffer any of this?"

"I have to suffer, to a degree."

"How?"

"The lack of sex affects me as well, I have to put up with your brother, and I'm living with you."

"Tyr!" Insulted, she reached up to tug on a braid. "Careful what you say. I'm the first officer- I can get Dylan to demote you to deckhand."

Semper interrupted again just then. Beka winced in anticipation as he approached with the medical instruments.

* * *

Rafe sauntered in after another hour. Beka didn't notice, being too busy complaining to Tyr. "He couldn't have been a bit more careful? That hurts! And he calls himself a doctor?"

Tyr groaned. "Beka, I realize that getting the stitches hurt. But you've gotten worse."

"And complained about it even more. This is just the stitches' fair share."

"Hey, Rocket."

Beka focused on him. "Ah, the cause of my pain has returned." Then she corrected herself. "Sorry, Tyr's the main cause. But it's still your fault that I have to go through this."

"How am I the main cause?" Tyr asked. He knew the answer, but asked anyway.

She knew that he knew, but answered in spite of it. "You're the one that got me pregnant."

"You didn't exactly stop me."

"It was all I could do to delay you a year."

Rafe interrupted, "Charming as this little spat is, I found out what happened to our seller."

"Your seller. He stopped being our seller the moment you told us the deal was shady." Still, he'd caught her attention, and she sat up and slid back onto Tyr's lap. The movement was accompanied by a shot of pain through her groin- those stitches had _really _hurt- but she ignored it. "So what happened to him?"

Rafe sat down in the visitor's chair and pulled it up to the bedside. "Like I thought, he ran into some trouble, only it wasn't legal. He got mugged. The thieves found the Flash and didn't realize it wasn't the normal stuff-"

"And they took it, lost their judgment that much quicker, and ended up killing themselves and your seller," Tyr finished. At the siblings' surprised look, he explained, "Behavioral patterns of Flash users are predictable."

"Another thing," Rafe got their attention again, "that meteorite strike wasn't a meteorite. The thieves were holed up in an access shaft when they killed each other, and one of their shots- when they were still firing Gauss guns and not trying to strangle each other- went wide and hit an open access panel. It disrupted normal operations all over the place, but the resident bureaucracy doesn't want to admit that some of their residents have problems."

Beka nodded. "That sounds about right."

All of them lapsed into silence for several minutes, until Rafe remembered an earlier comment. "How is this my fault?"

"What?"

"How is what happened to you my fault? If you knew the risks and came anyway..."

"Oh, that." She explained, "You told us that this was a simple, legal job on a decent drift. What you neglected to tell us was that it was a simple, barely legal job on a drift that's decent as long as you don't get into the whole subversive drug and crime aspect. That little difference in description was why we decided to risk it. What we were planning on was a quick, harmless way to make extra money before the baby comes, because I was fool enough to trust you about the job!" There were tears glistening in her eyes as she flung the last words at him; they prickled in the corners in which they sat, threatening to fall.

Rafe looked down at the floor, inspecting it carefully. "Rocket," he started cautiously, "all I can say-"

"Don't say youre sorry. Don't you dare say it. You aren't- you never are. You can't say it unless you mean it." Tyr wrapped his arms around her as a sob escaped at the end of her sentence.

"I've been thinking, while I was in the bar. I was going to ask if I could stay on _Andromeda_ for a while. To see if I could make it up to you?"

"How can you possibly make it up to me after scaring the hell out of me?"

Rafe considered for a moment. "Well... I could help with stuff. Like baby-sit, maybe?"

Beka stared at him for a full second before it clicked. "Which one?"

"What?"

"Which crewmember are you after?"

"None!" He broke down after a minute as they stared at him. "Just one or two."

She laughed, slightly, even though she still had tears in her eyes. "Predictable. Dylan might let you stay if you don't get us into any more trouble."

"And you and Tyr?"

Tyr said, "Maybe. If you don't endanger us any further. I have permission to fire you out a missile tube if you do."

"Who gave you permission to do that? Captain Terrific?" Oh, yeah. Rafe had definitely been hanging out with Harper too much recently.

"I did," Beka told him.

"Oh, there's family loyalty for you," he muttered. "Sell me out to the Nietzschean."

"Yes. And it is family loyalty; it's just to Tyr and the baby- oof!" She put a hand on her stomach. Now _that_ was new.

"What? What is it? Do you want me to get Semper?" Rafe shot to his feet, ready to go for the doctor. He hadn't acted that concerned earlier.

Tyr asked, "What's wrong? Isn't the medicine working?" He had straightened behind her, looking ready to go into hand to hand combat with Death himself, if need be. His bonespurs sprang out.

Beka shook her head. She was having trouble talking through the lump in her throat. The tears from earlier now escaped, trickling slowly down her cheeks, though for an entirely different reason as that odd sensation came again. She grabbed Tyr's hand and put it over her stomach, careful to avoid the extended bonespurs, saying, "Just wait a minute. You can feel it."

He only had to wait a moment before it happened again. He looked at her in surprise. "Is it?"

She nodded.

By now Rafe was thoroughly confused and demanded, "Will someone please tell me whats going on? Do you need a doctor or not?"

"No, no, I don't need a doctor. The baby kicked, is all." She was grinning by now.

"So the baby moved?"

"Yes!"

"That's what all this is about?"

"Yes!" Since he still looked perplexed, she clarified. "That means she's all right. I haven't felt her do this with quite that much force, and not at all since I got contractions. It means they didn't hurt her, she's all right!"

Even Tyr was beaming. He leaned over her shoulder to look at her stomach, almost in amazement. "She's moving!"

Rafe stared at her stomach. "Can I feel?"

"Sure." Beka shifted her hand to the side so Rafe could add his, right as the baby kicked again. She addressed it with "What are you, practicing hand-to-hand already?"

Rafe whispered, "That's the baby?"

"Yup. Your niece."

"Or nephew," Tyr put in. When Beka turned her head to glare at him, he just said, "I'm still hoping for a boy."

"Give it up, Tyr. You just said she."

Rafe was still gazing fixedly at her stomach. "Damn. I'm an uncle." He sat down again with a thud in the visitor's chair, pulling his hand from her belly to rest his chin on. "Damn," he repeated, amazed. "How am I supposed to be an uncle?"

"Just be better than Sid Barry and youll be fine," Beka advised. "She's stopped."

Tyr reluctantly removed his hand as her brother asked, "What's wrong with Uncle Sid?"

"Last time I ran into him, hed renamed himself Sam Profit, owned Quantum-TransGalactic Corporation, and hes turned into a homicidal maniac. He tried to kill me if I didn't give him a record of one of the operations he and Dad went on."

"Oh."

"Yeah, something like that."

"So where do I put my stuff for any longer, the _Maru_ or the _Andromeda_? If I'm going to hang around with you guys for a while, I need to stay someplace."


	10. Epilogue

****

Calling Rafe

Epilogue

By B.L.A. the Mouse

The chatter from the main walkway followed her in. She shut the door quickly and walked past haphazardly ordered baby clutter to the small crib in the corner of the cabin. Leaning over it, she reached down and brushed the perfect skin of the tiny cheek with a single finger, whispering, "Hey, baby girl, wake up. It's not quite midnight snack, but Mommy wants to show you off."

The baby in the crib stirred, but didn't fully wake. Her mouth opened in a silent yawn.

She leaned more heavily on the crib's side. "Aw, come on, Helen. Just open your eyes, please?"

"Maybe you ought to let her sleep and just carry her out as is." The voice was as quiet as hers, and emanated from the person moving out of the corner shadows. "After all, you spend enough time trying to get her to sleep."

"Tyr!" Beka jumped back from the crib. "I thought you had Command duty tonight."

"Dylan let me off at the last minute and told me to spend time with you and Helen. When I saw that you were busy with repairs, I came in here. Why are you waking her up?" He nodded in the direction of the crib.

She smiled. "You could have disturbed me. It's not like I would have minded all that much. In fact, I might have even been cheerful about it." When he didn't respond, she looked back down at the crib. "I thought it would be better to wake her up like this, instead of all the crew out there doing it. This is the last batch who haven't seen her yet, apparently, and they're pretty noisy. Dad used to wake me quietly whenever he could, and it was nicer than being blasted awake."

"And more effective, as far as I can see," Tyr said, craning his neck to get a better look at the somnambulant infant.

Beka ignored the dry comment. "Aren't you going to come out with us?" Studying the baby, she noticed that the blanket had slid off somewhat and she adjusted it automatically, touching the little shock of auburn fuzz as she did. The color looked odd against the dusky skin, but it was cute.

"I might as well. I'll keep the horde from rushing at you, at least." Tyr moved to stand behind her. Starting at her shoulders, he rubbed his hands down her arms. Finally reaching her hands, he interlaced their fingers and rested them on the side of the crib as he looked down at Helen. "She looks like you, now, more than she did."

"I guess," Beka replied dubiously, "but I'm still not sure how she ended up with red hair."

"Did I ever tell you that my grandmother had red hair?"

"No, but that would explain it." Pulling her hands free, she reached down and picked the baby up carefully, letting her snuggle closer to her body. "Do you realize we have to move to the _Andromeda_ soon?"

"Yes. It'll be safer and more convenient than the _Maru_."

"I know, but I did grow up on it." Beka shifted the child uncomfortably- she was still getting the hang of it.

Tyr looked over at the door as a particularly loud burst of laughter could be heard. "I take it your brother rounded up the strays?"

"Yeah. I think he just wants to make a better impression on Carrie- you know, Lieutenant Sawyer? He's been inviting her over all the time and playing the proud uncle. He doesn't mean it, though; he's got another babe in mind, and as soon as they go splat he's going to take off." She looked down at Helen, hooked a pinkie finger through the small paw. Even in sleep, she fisted her hand around it. "Not that you aren't reason enough to stay, don't you worry about that."

Tyr turned her to face him, Helen cradled in her arms between them. He leaned over and kissed her, longingly, then dropped a careful kiss on the baby's forehead. He smiled at both of them, even though Helen was still asleep. "If you're going to disturb her rest for this, we might as well get this over with."

"All right. I actually want to do something other than greet people all night." Beka adjusted her hold on their daughter again and glanced up at Tyr. "I actually want to spend some time with my family." She grinned. 

****

The End

Author's (final and lengthy) Note: That's all she wrote. I never really intended for it to grow beyond the one, sappy little scene, but it did. I enjoyed writing it as much as I hope you enjoyed reading it. If you're wondering about the name I chose for the baby, I was thinking of Helen of Troy at the time (because Nietszcheans seem to name their children after heroes and gods). I must say, though, I'm sorry I could never find a good reason for that particular title.

I'd like to extend a thank you to: all you guys who read this far, for your patience and the excellent reviews; friends and family for putting up with my rants, raves, and scribbling fits during the course of this story; my friend John in particular, for unwavering support, encouragement, and flattery; and my ex-boyfriend Mike, for partial inspiration of the original vignette.


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